


Only Fools Rush In

by Caillieach



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Glaive Week 2019, Luche is a bit of an asshole, M/M, Tredd is a tease, friends to lovers au, it's all in the specific AU, it's kind of a slow burn, no beta we die like men, there's a bit of swearing going on because it's a thing with these two, which is kinda obvious haha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 09:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21034241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caillieach/pseuds/Caillieach
Summary: In trading blows, they somehow, unknowingly found the missing pieces to themselves.ORHow Luche and Tredd didn’t get off to the best start and managed to become best friends despite that only to slowly fall for each other along the way.





	Only Fools Rush In

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for Glaive Week 2019 <strike>as it says in the tags</strike>. 
> 
> **Day 1 - General Theme: Alternate Universe**  
**Specific Prompts: <strike>Reverse AU // FF Crossovers</strike> // Friends to Lovers AU**
> 
> While I have a great many ideas for various Reverse AU's which _will_ happen at some point when I'm not as swamped with university, I simply didn't have the time to attempt those monsters. To be entirely honest, I didn't even plan _this_, it just kinda happened - and then took on a life of its own because I intended to keep this short...
> 
> ****
> 
> Well, here we are now.
> 
> ****
> 
> Constructive feedback is as always much appreciated. Enjoy~! ♥
> 
> ****

* * *

"We're not just friends and you fucking know it, Luche."

Luche stops with his back turned to Tredd, shoulders rigid with tension. There is…'something'...in Tredd's voice, beneath the anger that he can't put his finger on. But it hints at things he doesn't know how to handle, hints at something big and important and scary. And he knows intuitively that if he left now, he would lose the chance at 'it' for good.

Tredd is not someone known for his infinite patience, after all.

Dread is a funny thing. It is simple as it's usually relatively easy to pinpoint what exactly it is one dreads and one can act accordingly. And it is funny because sometimes it is nameless and only a vague but strong feeling that is hard to shake off and lodges itself into one's throat, constricting it.

Luche has no name for the dread he's feeling but the lump in his throat that is making breathing around it difficult is there. He swallows heavily.

"And what exactly is it I know according to you, Tredd?"

His voice, while sounding a little pressed if one listened carefully, comes out even and seemingly calm. Just as collected as usual although Luche is anything but on the inside. He's actually a little proud of his ability to seem calm in the face of disaster (and Tredd has always been a bit of one so thinking about him like this is absolutely justified in Luche's mind) but if the angry huff in his back is anything to go by, Tredd doesn't appreciate it.

"Come on, Luche, you're smart. You know what I'm talking about."

Luche does. Six help him but he does. If he's entirely honest with himself, he has seen it coming from a mile away and it's scaring the shit out of him because it's out of his control and he doesn't _ do _ emotions. At least not well.

He's known for being diligent, cunning and capable but also for being closed off. Luche has always worked better on his own and after losing everything he knew and held dear when Galahd fell...well, it's harder to lose people when one doesn't let anybody in, right? So he did what he had to do to make it through this war in which the Glaives dropped like flies and kept everyone at arm's length.

Except, it hadn't worked well with Tredd. And truth be told, his own squad had observed for a short while and then ignored his detached demeanour as well which is how he found himself with a handful of...friends. Entirely unexpected because why they put up with him, snarky asshole that he is, Luche would never know, but it's kinda nice, nonetheless.

But Tredd? He was a novelty, something else from the beginning. Somehow, he managed to get under Luche's skin from the moment they met - which resulted in a brawl actually because they rubbed themselves the wrong way and one sarcastic comment led to another until they had to be separated by the others. 

Annoyed with the obnoxious redhead, himself and the entire world, Luche had ignored Tredd for close to three weeks. Until Tredd had found him at his favourite retreat at the end of Fishermen's Pier down at the harbour with two bottles of Vesper Ale, an unexpected apology and surprisingly comfortable company. Since then, they've very become a permanent fixture in each other's lives.

All things considered, Luche shouldn't be as taken by surprise as he is. Tredd had taken a look at all his defences and instead of trying to get _ through _ his walls, he had _ scaled _ and simply climbed _ over _ them. ' _ Fucking idiot' _ , Luche thinks with affection. _ 'Always willing to prove other people wrong about him. _'

The sound of heavy boots on the stone floor warns him a second before Tredd's voice reaches him - deliberately low to not spook him, Luche realises - and the man himself steps around him and into his sight. 

Honey brown meets steel blue and their gazes lock.

Luche can feel the dread churn in his stomach in anticipation of what will happen next. Whatever it is, he knows that it will change their easy friendship irrevocably and he is not too proud to admit to himself that the urge to run for the hills is very strong. But despite himself, his feet are frozen to the ground and his eyes drop to the floor. The realisation isn't a new one but gets reaffirmed instead. A part of him doesn't want to leave. And it will have to happen, eventually.

"Luche. Lu, look at me." 

Tredd's voice is warm and uncharacteristically, unbearably soft. It's a side of himself Tredd lets no one see and only ever knowingly shows to Luche and they both know it. It used to give Luche all sorts of complicated feelings but he'd never trade it, not for the world. For all his reckless bravado and confident bearing, this side of Tredd is a hidden gem and Luche guards the knowledge like the gold it is.

"Since the night you reached out to me all those years ago, things have changed, Lu. And I think you know that as well as I do."

"Tredd, don't …"

Luche's voice is still as composed as ever but his widened eyes and clenched fists betray him. Although Tredd hasn't needed those obvious signs in years; it's usually enough for him to take a look at Luche's body language and make an educated guess about his mood. He's never wrong. And the flash of understanding in Tredd's eyes confirms it once again. He knows that Luche is nervous.

"I'm sorry, Lu, but I can't keep this quiet anymore. And at one point you gotta stop being a chicken."

Tredd's eyes are soft and his touch familiar but tender when he takes Luche's hand in his and unfurls his fingers carefully. Luche finds himself once again rendered defenceless faced with Tredd's true self. Tredd is making himself vulnerable before him and Ramuh's beard, it's working. Faced with the sincerity he can read in those eyes and expression, Luche is lost and resigns himself to his fate.

"Fine…" he sighs, voice laced with equal parts trepidation and irritation. "Tell me then. What changed?"

Tredd doesn't even have the decency to look at least a little surprised at the prompt. He always knew Luche would give in to him, the asshole. Out of spite, Luche is tempted to withdraw his hand and go on his way - he has things to do besides letting Tredd flay his emotions in a damned hallway, for fucks sake -

...but he doesn't. No matter the outcome, Tredd is still his friend. His closest and possibly only true friend and Luche is unwilling to give up on that so easily. In all their years of friendship and fighting side by side, he's never known Tredd to be a quitter either, so he's relatively confident that the redhead won't stop now that he got the ball rolling. Except, Tredd doesn’t continue. _ 'Of all the times to find out what hesitation means-…' _

"Well? Are you going to enlighten me any time soon or should I get started on today's paperwork until you get your balls out?"

Luche arches one brow in a clear invitation for Tredd to get his shit together and _ speak _. They don’t have all day after all and Luche is about done with the mixture of both anticipation and dread.

Tredd chuckles drily, amused despite himself. For a moment Luche fears that his words were to harsh for the precarious ground they are on, but then again they’ve never been in the business of sugar coating things with each other. It’s part of why their friendship works so well. Worked. Whatever it is now.

“Ifrit's Balls, Luche, aren’t you a sweetheart?” 

Tredd threads the fingers of his free hand, the one not still holding onto Luche’s, through his hair and with a start Luche realises that Tredd is nervous too. Which...actually makes a lot of sense. It is strangely reassuring and endearing at once. He snorts and shakes his head before he meets Tredd’s eyes again.

“Come on, Tredd, out with it. We don’t have all day...and you’re killing me here.”

There. It’s not exactly an admission of nervousness but it should be enough to kick Tredd’s butt into gear. Or so Luche hopes at least because if he found himself in the situation to continue this...he’s not sure he would. He sucks at heart-to-heart. Unless he is drunk that is. But he isn’t disappointed. If that’s a good thing...well, that remains to be seen.

“Fine, you asshole. Shut up and listen for a second, alright?” Tredd’s voice still isn’t back to his usual easy confidence but he sounds surer of himself and Luche steels himself. Whatever comes next will either ruin or make his day.

“When you reached out to me that night...came to _ me _ of all people...it did something to me I didn’t have the words for, for the longest time, you know? There you were, snappy asshole extraordinaire, Mr. I-have-the-situation-under-control…reaching out to _ me _ for emotional support.”

Tredd’s laugh is full of fondness and amusement and smoothes the indignation at being called names over - although Luche knows he is all that and more - but before he can get a protest in or call Tredd a thick headed idiot in return, the redhead continues.

“It’s stupid, but that was the moment in which I knew for sure there was more to you than your prickly exterior and it made me want to get to know the real you. And I’m fairly sure that I did. Or at least you let me in enough to see you vulnerable or with your face lathered in shaving foam and horrible bed hair and cranky as fuck in the morning.”

Here, Tredd pauses and they both chuckle, the tension broken between them. 

Luche knows where this is heading, has accepted that he wouldn’t be able to stop this short of bringing the Astrals down on Insomnia perhaps and in a way, he’s relieved that Tredd has forced them both to bring this out in the open. He would have to be especially slow on the uptake to miss how the air between them has changed slowly but inexorably lately. But that doesn’t mean he’ll make it easy for him.

“Well, aren’t you a charmer, Furia? As if you look so much better with your shirt stained with your sorry attempts at cooking or more dignified with your toothbrush hanging out of your mouth and dripping toothpaste down your chin or pillow creases on your face.”

They share another laugh and if Tredd was actually smart enough to plan bringing these things up to dissipate the tension...well, Luche knows Tredd is smarter than he lets on but maybe he still underestimates him sometimes.

“Come on, Furia, out with it. You’re going somewhere with this and I meant it when I said I didn’t have all day. I’m supposed to look over the bi-annual budget before the meeting with the Council this afternoon.”

Tredd rolls his eyes and groans theatrically.

“Way to kill the mood, Lazarus. A guy’s trying to be romantic and you go and bring those conceited holier-than-thou fuckers up…”

Luche scoffs to conceal his amusement for just that bit longer. Riling Tredd up was always fun, especially because his temper was so damn explosive. Seeing Tredd fly off the rails was a sight to behold every single time.

“If that’s you being romantic I pity the poor sod you will try courting one day.”

Tredd gapes at him in disbelief for a moment before Luche gets his wish. The redhead lets go of his hand in favour of making a helpless gesture with his arms before smacking Luche’s shoulder, clearly torn between indignation and amusement.

“I’m trying to court _ you _, you fucking idiot! But maybe I should reconsider. Trying to hug a damn Cactuar would be easier than you.”

Tredd’s expression is so curious that Luche finally loses the fight against the laughter bubbling in his throat and lets it out. Six, but Tredd’s face...maybe he shouldn’t have tried to rile him up, but it had been too easy. Mainly because Tredd’s temper is always ready to boil over but also because no one expects him, always proper and tightly wound Luche Lazarus, to pull someone’s leg.

“So I’ve been told on countless occasions and by you no less.” Luche smirks at Tredd. “So?”

Not entirely recovered and calmed down, Tredd bristles.

“So what?”

Huh. If Tredd’s demeanour is anything to go by, maybe Luche took it a bit too far. He pauses to consider the man standing in front of him, then grins to himself. No, Luche decides, he didn’t. Tredd’s a big boy and he knows Luche better than anyone. He should know what to expect from him.

“Well, you were working your way up to something, weren’t you?”

He knows full well what that something is. But he’s not inclined to make this easy for Tredd. Not after cornering Luche at work, somewhere he couldn’t hightail the fuck out of without damaging his reputation and spotless vest of professionalism - which honestly was a stroke of genius, Luche will give him that because otherwise he would have been content to let things continue as they were for a while longer.

In any case, he’s managed to put Tredd off his stride because he’s clearly fumbling now.

“I...you’re an asshole, Lu, and sometimes I don’t know why I put up with you.” he sighs.

Ouch. That...hurt, actually. Luche is well aware that he’s not the easiest person to be around but somehow, he’s grown secure knowing that Tredd would always have his back, even when he’s in one of his moods.

“But I want all of that, anyway. Waking up to you, I mean. Seeing the less than perfect you. I want that and more, you know? The whole deal. You.”

Luche can’t help it, he feels the corners of his lips twitch in...what? Amusement? Elation? Relief? He settles on all of the above. The cat’s out of the bag now albeit in a very awkward but strangely endearing way and they can finally return to their normality. Only with added benefits although not all that much would change, Luche muses. They pretty much spend most of their free time together, anyway.

Except, he expects that there will be other, more intimate things finding their way into their lives now.

“Well, was that so difficult?”

Tredd gives him an incredulous look before he visibly comprehends that Luche knew what he was trying to say the whole time.

“...asshole.” He snorts but the growing smile on his face is betraying him. “Come here.” 

To Tredd’s detriment, Luche knows him just as well as Tredd knows him so it’s easy to anticipate what he’s trying to do - Luche ducks under the arms reaching for him, shoots Tredd a smirk over his shoulder and makes for his office.

“Not here, Furia. Remember where we are.”

Luche barely set a foot inside his office before he finds himself spun around and pressed against the door with a very large redhead in his space. A very large redhead unwilling to let him get a word in.

“Shut up, Lu, we aren’t in public in here.”

Tredd leans in and before Luche can even blink, his arms are around him, caging him in and this close, Tredd’s fresh, spicy aftershave clouds his mind. And then Tredd kisses him, softly at first as if to test the waters, and when he finds what he’s looking for, tilts his head and deepens the kiss, begging for entrance which Luche grants him with a sigh. 

Sweet Shiva, if Luche had known how good this would feel he would have cornered Tredd months ago already. The intensity building between them sends wild tremors along his nerves and down his spine and he wraps his arms around Tredd’s shoulders to pull him closer.

They have to break apart for lack of air sooner than Luche likes. For a long moment they just stand there, panting into the little space between them and taking each other in.

"Should have done this ages ago…!” Tredd murmurs lowly. 

Luche agrees. “You should have.” Now that the difficult part is over, he can’t help but give his reluctance up and hope for another kiss or three but...Tredd loosens his hold on him and steps back.

“Well, I believe you mentioned paperwork and a meeting. Don’t let me keep you.”

And with a wink and a grin not unlike the cat that got the canary - and Luche knows he's the canary in the equation -, he spins Luche around again, away from the door and steps into the hallway, ignoring the bewildered look Luche shoots him.

“See you later at Yama’s? I’ll meet up with the others after my shift, you could join us when you’re done.” 

"I...yeah, sure." 

Luche isn't entirely sure what's happening here, his brain still caught up with processing the change in their relationship and Tredd's kiss.

"Great. See you later than-...!"

Just like the whirlwind Tredd is, he's gone as fast as he cornered him in the beginning of their 'chat'. Running his hand distractedly through his hair, Luche takes a few steps back, leans against his desk for support because his legs feel a little wobbly and snorts.

"...fucking tease."

What has he gotten himself into with this one?

* * *

© [Asoeki](https://asoeiki.tumblr.com/post/186712370789/commission-done-for-alltheglaives-ffxv-pairing)

Thank you for this wonderful picture of my favourite boys. ❤

* * *


End file.
